9. Conclusion
Atopic dermatitis is a complex skin disease with underlying skin barrier
defects. Multiple intrinsic but also extrinsic factors put humans at
risk to develop AE – among them environmental factors which in times of
climate change could play an even stronger role in the future. However,
the heterogenous disease can be divided into multiple endotypes with
different pathomechanisms. Therefore, a personalized medicine approach
for an effective management of AE. New strategies emerged in the last
years, tackling the skin barrier including the microbiome, or factors of
the immune system. Even better would be the prevention of AE, possibly
by suitable emollients or pre- and probiotics, as AE is known and
confirmed to be the first step of the atopic march. Much of the complex
disease mechanisms could be unraveled in the last decades. However, much
is still unknown and must be addressed by the science community,
particularly host-microbe and environmental interaction.